Sunday, April 22, 2012

Kelsey realization that one person truly can make a difference


A forty eight minute train ride from Rondebosch followed by an eleven minute mini bus taxi ride from Fish Hoek lays the township of Ocean View. It is a community in every sense of the word. Walk down streets with a local and you’ll find dozens of people waving their “hellos” and “howzits” because everyone is interlinked – whether through being neighbors, family, or just fellow street walkers. The niceness of the people of Ocean View is remarkable. In a more logistical sense, however, the predominant races are that of colored and Islamic people. Constant threats to the community are overwhelming poverty and substance abuse which directly cause an educational and learning gap in Ocean View. The test scores are low reflecting a lack of understanding of basic concepts, especially in math. Upon first meeting the children during our homestays, I came to learn that the majority of the children were not passing math. I instantly knew I could help change that.

From that point on, Chantel, Brittany, and I worked very closely to create a tutoring program for all those amazing kids that we met. Because everyone needed help with math, we set that as our main subject focus. We decided on the location of the church on Chantel’s street because she is already closely linked with it and was able to have access to the building. Next was to get the kids on board. This was the easiest part as they all agreed before we even finished our proposal. As the learners get out of school between noon and thirteen hundred, Fridays became our weekly scheduled tutoring date. We, being the tutors, would arrive at Ocean View around twelve thirty and stay until about three or four. Chantel informed us that she wanted all of us to be out of Ocean View before any hint of the sky getting dark in order to ensure our safety just in case anything should happen. Emails upon emails later, our venue was set and agreed upon. All we needed now were the tutors. Almost everyone that did the homestay wanted to be a part of our activist project because they loved the kids just as much as I did. However, Chantel and I had agreed upon consistency amongst the tutors (attendance wise) in order to establish stability and accountability between the tutors and the tutees. As a result, everyone that wanted to participate had to agree to be there every single time unless a valid excuse was given. Our program was official created and put into action that very Friday.

Every Friday is different. Since the program centers around the kids and their needs, our objectives change to reflect the kids. To start off every session, we all hold hands and form a big circle. We select someone to do breathing exercises in the middle for all of us to mock followed by a game or two to heighten energy levels. Afterwards, we begin the agenda for the session. The first Friday, we all split up into groups and tutored kids based on their grade level – ranging from six to eleven. It was really interesting because I was paired with a tenth grader named Jenna Lee who learned what she hadn’t previously understood very quickly, leaving plenty of time to spare. She asked me to also help her study for her English test that she was about to have the following week. I came to find out that she didn’t know the difference between “its” and “it’s,” the concept of ownership as in apostrophes, and other basic things that I learned in elementary school. This baffled me. She loved finding out all the “ins and outs of English,” as she said it. Sometime later, everyone reconvened and we had a small dance party with some games thrown in. Aside from all of us laughing and having a great time, I never realized how much rapport this built amongst everyone until we all got hugs when we said our goodbyes. It was an incredible first experience that increased my love of those kids and my passion to help as much as I could. The sessions that followed included a lot of tutoring on the time tables because they were never taught them and needed to drastically increase their multiplication skills. To ensure that what we were teaching sank in, we asked the kids to review their tables before our next meeting, I bought a bunch of candy to serve as awards for when we quizzed them. Of course, we played a bunch of games and continued to build our friendships with everyone. The look on the kids’ faces when they understand a concept they hadn’t before or got an answer right is so rewarding for me. Just as much so, though, are all the laughs and happiness that beam from all the kids and the massive amounts of hugs that I get before leaving - especially when they are accompanied by “I’ll miss you.” It makes me tear up every time.

From my Ocean View experiences, I’ve learned just how much of an impact I, being that of one person, can have on a child. I have the power to make someone feel good about themselves, raise their confidence and self-esteem, and to bring happiness into their lives. To me, that is the absolute most important lesson I could have ever hoped to not only learn but experience countless times with the amazing kids of Ocean View. It also shows me just how underprivileged these children really are because of their lack of education and knowledge of, what I considered as, basic concepts. The economic disparity between Ocean View and other areas (like Rondebosch) is unbelievable, not to mention ridiculously unfair. It just showed me firsthand the effects that Apartheid still has on South Africa today. The sad thing is that these disparities happen everywhere, not just South Africa. America has huge economic inequalities that I hadn’t even thought to realize before this activist project. There are thousands of communities in the U.S. that are educationally and economically deprived because of the entrapments of poverty and location. Yes, South Africa is an extreme case due to Apartheid, but America is hardly doing anything about helping to lessen the gab that centuries of prejudices have created – including me, until now that is. Seeing the positive differences I have (and will continue) to make in all those kids lives has shown and taught me that I can, even if it’s not on a large scale, help those suffering around me in Connecticut. Take Hartford, for example. I know I could volunteer at a school, afterschool program, or any other organization and make such as much of a difference for kids that are just as in need of help as those I am helping now. It is just really sad and embarrassing that it has taken me twenty one years to realize this. This just goes to show that so many social issues, whether consciously or unconsciously, are overlooked when they should be seen and changed. Learning that I can help change economic and educational disparities that exist goes hand in hand with learning about racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc. that are prevalent and need changing as well.

Our Ocean View program is not set to end until the Friday, 20 April. Chantel and I worry that the program won’t be able to continue after we leave to go back to America because with us go all the tutors. As a result, Chantel is trying to find replacement tutors. In the meantime, I’ve told her of my hopes to encourage next year’s study abroad students to join the program. As far as hours go, I’ve definitely spent over twenty four hours on the project. Factoring in a couple hours every Friday, with some weekday visits thrown in, the numerous emails, phone calls, and sms’s between Chantel and myself, the preparation work (such as preparing tutoring lessons, buying candy, making flash cards, etc.), relaying the agenda and plans to all of the other tutors (and dealing with some complications that arose), and even things that I still plan to do, every hour I’ve spent on my activist project is more than worth it. I still have certificates to make for each of the kids as a reward for coming to all the tutoring sessions and as encouragement to continue making progress. The other tutors and I wanted to plan out a dance for the kids too because they’ve taught us a lot of moves and put on a show for us. I think it’d be a great, fun way to celebrate our time spent together.  I also have to prepare some snacks and food for the celebration. I am literally so excited to see the kids again and can’t even imagine how much sadness I’m going to feel having to leave them to go back home.

It may be unrealistic to think that I’ll be able to afford to come back but I refuse to give up hope. I want so badly to return to Ocean View and I’m going to try really hard to make that happen. In the meantime, I’m definitely keeping in touch with Chantel and hopefully some of the kids through facebook and emailing. 

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